No, the Windows dialer is designed to control a modem in your hardware. That modem needs to be connected to phone line to work.

Right. So, will Vonage work if I snap the phone line into the modem port on my PC? Note that using this method bypasses the computer's direct use of the Internet and relies instead on the regular way Vonage works, namely, by my home phone system connecting to the Vonage port on the Vonage "device" (router).

I wouldn't use a browser or web-based phone program (V-Phone or SoftPhone). Maybe use XP's Address Book for dialing out and answering incoming Vonage calls. I assume that the computer would see Vonage as an ordinary phone.

Will this work? And if so, are any special settings needed in the Control Panel's Phone and Modem Options?

...but first, to roscopco: My previous posting to which you responded omitted a critical detail. I was talking about using my computer's old fashioned fax/voice modem, not, as you may have thought I meant, an ethernet/broadband modem.

That said, here's how to turn a $1,000 computer into a phone:

• What you need: 1. Hardware: A computer with an old-fashioned voice/fax modem. Maybe it's built in to your computer. Look for a modular phone port --that's the square snap-in port that regular wired phones use-- on the back of your system unit. I added one to the computer I bought last year. It's a feature card that cost maybe $10 online and was quick and easy to install (Run any accompanying installation disk).

1 or 2 phone cables and maybe a new modular phone line splitter. Get them at the store that sells all the inexpensive made-in-China stuff.

A headset's best; a microphone and speakers may be OK.

2. Software, which you probably already have: Outlook and Windows Dialer work fine. I also successfully used Cardfile, a tiny program MS included with Windows 3.1! Or you can get yourself a new telephone program with lots of features.

• Procedure: Snap one end of the new cable into the computer's modular phone port, and the other end into your phone system, using the splitter and extra cable as necessary. Done!

--BrownBeardI'm no expert. I'm just a guy. No guarantee. Please politely let me know if I got something wrong.